Arc 5: Chapter 21
In a year with four seasons, the fourth month was usually the time when flowers stopped blooming, but in the immortal sects, the passing of seasons defied mortal timelines.
Among the twelve main peaks of Pure Jade Palace, one of them was called Northern Ridge Snow Peak. From its name, one could guess that it was a mountain covered in layers of pristine, white snow. Unexpectedly, the current peak master of Northern Ridge Snow Peak didn’t like it being cold all the time, so when they were inaugurated, they melted all of the snow and planted peach tree saplings.
Over time, the original snow peak transformed into a peach forest. Now the trees were embellished with vibrant, red blossoms, and it was a sight even more brilliant than the most flourishing spring scenes.
It was a tradition for Pure Jade Palace disciples to visit the peach forest when the flowers bloomed. They would enjoy the scenery, practice swordsmanship, read, or paint.
Today, Lin Yuan also followed his senior brothers to play in the peach forest.
Warm breezes wove through the branches, making shadows dance on the soil underneath the vivid blossom with faint red dresses. The wind swept over white robes, making them billow as they moved. While some disciples exchanged swordsmanship techniques with friends, others played tunes on zithers and flutes.
The scene was harmonious and carefree.
Lin Yuan did not participate in the fun, and instead, found a large rock to sit on and watch, studying the movements of his senior brothers intently at first, but he grew bored after a while. The sunshine felt so pleasant that Lin Yuan decided to not study anymore and lay down leisurely on the rock. He even placed two peach blossoms over his eyes.
The warmth made him drowsy, and he was almost about to drift off when a low, cool voice suddenly sounded right next to his ear.
“Go three kilometers to the right.”
It was Xie Hanzhou’s voice.
Lin Yuan sat up abruptly, and the two petals floated off down onto his white robe. Surrounded by the laughter of other disciples, Lin Yuan suddenly felt a little embarrassed that he was secretly going to meet the sect’s revered leader behind everyone’s back.
All of the disciples regarded Xie Hanzhou as a lofty, unattainable figure; he was like the pure and untainted moon in the sky, completely beyond reach. They dared not show him even the slightest disrespect.
On the other hand, ever since New Year’s, whenever Lin Yuan was free, he had been…disrespecting his master.
Lin Yuan jumped down from the rock, and awkwardly straightened his robe, feeling like a thief, and began walking away. When he passed by his senior brothers and sisters, they greeted him warmly with smiles and laughter.
This made him even more self-conscious okay?!
In the midst of concentrated peach blossoms and layered shadows where even the breeze could not pass, Lin Yuan spotted Xie Hanzhou. The man was dressed in robes as white as snow, and the peach blossom tree above him was in full bloom, with its rosy petals swirling like butterflies down to the ground.
The moment Lin Yuan saw Xie Hanzhou, his eyes lit up and he ran over. He enthusiastically hugged Xie Hanzhou from behind and rubbed against him. He called out joyfully: “Master~”
Xie Hanzhou, wrapped in the embrace of his clingy young disciple, felt the youth’s warm breath linger on his neck, sending a tingling sensation through his body. He thought helplessly that his little disciple’s true color was being coquettish, but he still felt an intense warmth and tenderness in his heart.
Xie Hanzhou hummed softly in acknowledgment and was about to tell Lin Yuan to let go when he suddenly felt a breeze. The breeze carried a sharp and frosty killing intent.
This killing intent was familiar.
Xie Hanzhou knew who it was. With some hidden intentions, he turned around and tightly embraced his little disciple. He pressed his cool, crimson lips against the boy’s soft black hair in a light kiss and then lowered his head to kiss the boy’s ear.
The killing intent grew even stronger, becoming more violent and chilling.
Xie Hanzhou calmly raised his eyes and looked deeper into the forest. Far away where no one could see, fierce gales howled and tore apart countless peach blossoms. Grass and trees were swept up and shredded, leaving only bare, desolate peach tree roots.
At the center of the murderous aura stood a man dressed in striking red robes with a complexion as pale as snow and his stunningly beautiful features. His knitted brows carried a sharp air, and his glass-like amber eyes were so dark they were incapable of reflecting even the faintest of light.
Xie Hanzhou sensed Yu Sui’an’s level of cultivation and noted that the other was just one step away from reaching the upper stage of the Heavenly Realm. The breakthrough was so close it could happen at any moment, perhaps even today, but it wasn’t yet complete.
Was the breakthrough delayed because of his little disciple?
Xie Hanzhou lowered his gaze and looked at the youth in his arms. After thinking for a moment, he said softly next to Lin Yuan’s ear: “Elder Sister Ye just sought me out about a matter. Wait here for half an hour, if I haven’t returned by then, go back first. Tomorrow, go to Ancient Grove Peak and find me.”
Elder Sister Ye was the peak master of Northern Ridge Snow Peak.
Lin Yuan didn’t question it. He nodded obediently, and raised his head to plant a kiss on Xie Hanzhou’s lips. He said sweetly: “Okay, Master, you go ahead. I’ll wait here.”
Xie Hanzhou gently stroked the youth’s hair, and his gaze was tender yet unfathomably deep, like ripples on the surface of the deep ocean: “So good.”
He let go of Lin Yuan and stepped forward, in an instant, Xie Hanzhou arrived where Yu Sui’an stood.
He calmly surveyed the chaos of fierce winds, broken trees, and the other version of himself. Xie Hanzhou’s eyes narrowed, and his voice was as cold as the iciest winter: “Elder Sister Ye takes great pride in this peach forest. If you have a grievance with me, you should direct it at me. Why involve these innocent trees?”
Yu Sui’an sneered and with a wave of his hand, he conjured out a radiant double-layered peach blossom. He suddenly advanced closer to Xie Hanzhou, faster than in a blink of an eye, clenched his fist and struck the man’s face, making the flower scattering in the process.
Xie Hanzhou had expected Yu Sui’an’s anger, but he hadn’t expected that Yu Sui’an would rage so quickly and so full of fury and bloodlust.
They were both experts at the mid-stage of the Heavenly Realm, so being hit by Yu Sui’an full-force strike was naturally painful to Xie Hanzhou.
Yu Sui’an grabbed Xie Hanzhou’s collar, and roughly pinned him against a peach tree. Two pairs of eyes, one blazing like the most intense volcano, and one cold like the most ancient glacier, glared at each other. Yu Sui’an’s chuckled darkly: “Grievance? Indeed, you’ve just stolen my partner, cut into my flesh, and carved out my heart.”
With every word, he spoke as if his heart was dripping blood.
“Xie Hanzhou, you can’t bear to see me happy right? I barely managed to get a little better, and just barely began to escape from your shadow, so why did you have to touch Lin Yuan?” His voice grew louder: “Why did you have to touch him?!”
“What don’t you have? With just a word, countless noble men and women would flock to you, offering you their unwavering loyalty.”
“But they all fear me. I finally found someone who genuinely wants to be close to me, who cherishes me, and you still want to take him from me?”
“Xie Hanzhou, is this your Dao? To take what others love?!”
Xie Hanzhou maintained his calm and composed demeanor, like the unchanging moon. Only his slightly disheveled hair from the punch earlier made him look more similar to the strikingly beautiful man in crimson before him.
They were, after all, the same person, as mirror images of each other.
Xie Hanzhou looked at Yu Sui’an, and then at the cloudless sky in the distance. He spoke calmly: “I didn’t take what you love. It’s all a matter of cause and effect. You approached Lin Yuan to disrupt my Dao heart and cultivation, which created entanglements between him and me. That’s the cause. The bond between him and me is the effect.”
“My unstable Dao heart gave rise to my current feelings. This is the fruit of the cause you planted. This fruit belongs to him and me.”
Xie Hanzhou’s gaze was serene and his emotions were subdued, yet his words were laced with profound mockery. It was a complex expression, like embodying the contradictions of heaven and earth, or the black and white of human existence.
“Yu Sui’an, you must bear the consequences of the causes you sowed. You and I are one. Your thoughts and desires also become mine. This cause and effect is ironic, yet undeniably real.”
Yu Sui’an didn’t want to hear Xie Hanzhou's preaching and he didn’t have faintest care for these grand principles. He just wanted to kill Xie Hanzhou—but he couldn’t.
If Xie Hanzhou died, Yu Sui’an would disappear too.
How ironic was it that if Yu Sui’an died, nothing would happen to Xie Hanzhou.
Yu Sui’an had thought about this countless times: he was the deepest, most dreaded shadow within Xie Hanzhou, and the manifestation of the wound that caused him the most fear and pain. His entire existence was the key to healing that wound.
Yu Sui’an was like a beggar dressed in luxurious robes, bound with a golden crown. Underneath a facade of glory, there was a rotten core, riddled with scars, reeking of decay, and drowning in the shadows.
After hundreds of years, he finally found a reason to change—a warm, pure-hearted youth who made him want to be happy, to cleanse himself, and to be worthy.
But now, cause and effect had arrived without warning, like the indifferent and unyielding cycle of the heavens.
Yu Sui’an didn’t accept this cause and effect. As a demon, why did he need to follow the heavenly path?
Xie Hanzhou already had Pure Jade Palace, a place to stay at and return to, the loyalty of the immortal sects, and a prosperous past, present, and future. With all of that, he still wanted to take Lin Yuan from him?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!
Yu Sui’an’s mind was in chaos, and his sanity gradually slipped away. He released Xie Hanzhou and disappeared, reappearing behind the youth he had yearned for day and night.
Lin Yuan stood patiently waiting under the peach tree. The moment Yu Sui’an appeared, 521 noticed immediately and was about to warn Lin Yuan, but the man in crimson moved faster, like a beast hunting its prey.
Lin Yuan was suddenly hugged from behind, and yelped in surprise: “Who?!”
He struggled instinctively, but the person forcefully covered his mouth.
Yu Sui’an’s eyes showed faint traces of blood-red madness. He kissed the youth’s nape, licking and biting with his teeth.
Lin Yuan was stunned and couldn’t believe that someone would assault him in broad daylight in Pure Jade Palace. Who was it? Could it be a demon who had sneaked in?
Then a hoarse and pained voice called his name from behind: “Sui Sui.”
Yu… Yu Sui’an?
Lin Yuan had only ever told Yu Sui’an his nickname.
He stopped struggling. Lin Yuan reached back and touched a cold face.
It really was him.